BANKFOOT inflicted a second successive defeat on leaders Batley and blew the Bradford Premier League Championship One title race wide open.

They triumphed by three wickets and, with Morley bagging a maximum 20 points for their 91-run win over Scholes, there are just 12 points covering the top three teams.

Table-topping Batley have 232 but Morley 225 and Bankfoot 220 are ready to pounce if they slip up again in the remaining two games.

Only Kasir Maroof (47no) made an impression as the Bankfoot attack, led by skipper James Lee (3-43), restricted Batley to a score of 144-9.

Bankfoot were guided to victory by Arsaam Malik (47), Hamzah Iqbal (33) and Hisan Ahmad (33).

Morley opener James McNichol made a fine 102, including one six and 10 fours, as Morley compiled a score of 241-5 at Scholes. Henry Rush (51) and skipper Matt Baxter (32) helped make it a tough time for the Scholes bowlers.

Opener Mohammed Rafique (71) battled hard for Scholes but could not prevent his side from being bowled out for 150 as their second successive relegation was confirmed. Oliver Halliday (3-8) and Rush (3-11) were the pick of the Morley attack.

Wakefield St Michael’s gave their hopes of avoiding relegation a huge lift as they defeated East Bierley by seven wickets to close the gap between themselves and their rivals to 10 points.

After bowling out East Bierley for 137, with Zaeem Zulfqar taking 4-22 and Ollie Lightfoot (3-54), St Michael’s made a cracking start to their reply with Zulfqar (43) and Ayaz Seedat (59) putting on 99 for the first wicket. It was the perfect foundation for a successful run chase.

Hartshead Moor’s batting crumbled for the second game in a row as they were dismissed for just 64 in their eight-wicket defeat by Ossett.

Opening bowlers Mushy Rafique (6-22) and Dan Busfield (3-12) ripped through the Hartshead Moor innings to set up another win for their side.

Australian Blair Oakley produced another fine all-round performance to guide Baildon to a 44-run win over Keighley.

Oakley top scored with 61 and was backed up by Mounam Ejaz (36) as the threat of Alex Antoine (7-49) was countered in a Baildon score of 202-8.

Richard Gould (45), Luke Chapman (37) and Nathan Storton (34) were the main contributors to Keighley’s 158-9, but Oakley (3-30) and spinner Mushtaq Ahmed (4-52) ensured they were unable to challenge the Jenny Laners’ total.

Spinners Chris Greenwood (4-31) and Chris Rhodes (3-37) restricted Pudsey Congs to 157-9 as they helped Gomersal to a 19-run win.

An unbeaten 54 from Liam Thomas and a knock of 36 from Richard Wear were the highlights of Gomersal’s 176-5.